We’re now 32-days in the continuing odyssey of the misusing Malaysia Flight 370 with 239 souls onboard. Last Friday, 4 April, while searching the Indian Ocean about 900 nautical miles west of Perth, the Chinese patrol ship, Haixum 01, reportedlyheard electronic pings that resemble those that might be transmitted by the aircraft’s “black box.” The Chinese sailors heard such pings for twelve minutes and did not record them—it has been reported.
On Sunday, 6 April, an Australian ship (name unknown) picked up similar pings. The first reception was held for two-hours and twenty-minutes. On the ship’s reverse course, the reception was held for thirteen minutes. Signal strength was not reported.
The battery powering the black box is due to expire at any time soon—the weaker the battery, the weaker is the ping’s signal strength.
Australian Air Chief Marshall Angus Houston cautions that they have not confirmed that the ping signals are being transmitted from Flight 370’s black box. Since Sunday, no searchers have received or recorded pings.
Dear reader: I’m perplexed. The distance between the locations of the Chinese and Australian reporting is 300 nautical miles (one nautical mile equals about 6,000 feet). That large distance between reporting stations is puzzling. In my simple mind, 300 nm is too far apart to make sense. Something is untoward. Maybe even “afoot.”
